Honda’s CR-Z Concept: The Next CRX?
CR-Z Photos
Honda is fairly intent on bringing a small, compact, affordable and efficient sports car to market. Those that lived through the ’80s and ’90s will remember the CRX, a two-seat coupe based on the Honda Civic that’s still popular today. Over the past year or so, the Japanese brand has been showing different small sports coupe concepts around the world, including the Remix, and the Small Hybrid Sports Coupe concept, teasing fans all over the globe. However, with the new CR-Z Concept, which will be unveiled in Tokyo shortly, the brand appears closer to its goals of producing such a vehicle than ever before.
While the name might sound familiar, the letters of this acronym stand for something completely different: Compact Renaissance Zero. The car also features a look that is much different than the direction taken by current Hondas in Japan, Europe or North America. Some elements of the CR-Z’s design are easily noted between other Hondas though; for instance, the car’s prominent grille is still a five-sided shape and the lower intakes on the front bumper are triangular like the European Honda Civic. The raised hood bulge and the offset headlamps help to give the car the look of something much sportier than a Civic or an Accord. Quite a few of us think that it looks a lot like the Mazda RX-8. Just like the CRX, the CR-Z is a two-door with a large glass fastback including an angled glass panel below the main deck to improve rearward visibility.
Overall, the new CR-Z is quite a bit larger than the final generation of CRX by about 12 inches in length and four inches in width, though its height has remained constant. This has helped to give the concept car a very sleek, but planted look.
The CR-Z Concept is powered by a gasoline-electric hybrid drivetrain that consists of a small three-stage gasoline engine, mated to the brand’s IMA system. Because of its sporting potential, expect an engine that offers more grunt than the 1.0-liter three-cylinder engine from the Insight. A 1.4- or even 1.6-liter engine from the Honda Fit or Honda Civic combined with electrical assist should give the CR-Z peppy if not electric performance.
The interior of the CR-Z is stylish and modern, with a color scheme that revolves around white, dark gray and purple. A quick glance around the cabin shows a different approach to the use of materials; many of the surfaces are actually made from a mesh fabric, such as the thin-format seats and the upper dashboard. However, there’s a reason for the growth – the CR-Z isn’t a two-seater, but is rather a four-seater with what looks to be fairly roomy rear quarters.
Small, good-looking, efficient and practical. Sounds like a good blend to us.